The Invincible Summer
by Noitpmeder
Summary: A case gone wrong leads the team into a fight for their survival and their future. "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." -Albert Camus
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

* * *

He noticed the lock was broken before he even stepped onto his front porch.

Splinters of wood protruded from the door frame and the door latch was hanging precariously from one screw. The door was slightly ajar, betraying the house's dark interior and eerie quiet.

Voight glanced at the window on his right.

It was black with the night and everything was still.

In one fluid movement, his gun was out and aimed, preceding him into the house.

He left the lights off, not wanting to draw attention to himself and put a target on his back.

He cleared the entry easily and moved into the front study off to his left.

After a quick sweep, he moved across the hall to the living room.

He tensed, pausing at an indistinct noise.

Voight surveyed the area around him, searching for its source.

He heard it again; it was a faint sound - one of shuffling feet and labored breaths. His brows bunched together in concentration, his steps slow and steady, muscles tensed to react as he quietly progressed across the room. He pressed his back against the opposite wall that ran perpendicular to a short hallway leading to the kitchen.

Voight crouched down slightly, listened for a moment, then peered around the corner.

One figure.

Hunched over.

Approximately three feet away.

No visible weapon but it was too dark to tell for sure.

He pulled his head back, straightened to his full height, then charged around the corner.

"Hands up where I can see 'em. Now." Voight growled.

His index finger tightened against the trigger, pulling it taut; the smallest increase in pressure and a bullet would embed itself into the intruder's head.

The figure stepped forward, their forehead pressing against the gun's barrel.

They were finally close enough that he could make out their features. He surveyed them for half a moment before an unfamiliar surge of adrenaline coursed through him. It was another moment before he realized what it was.

Fear.

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**Since it's a prologue, this is really short but I promise, the chapters will be longer!**

**Please review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter (Kelon, jaelyn2001, Famous4it, country-chick-20, Cribellate)! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far. I'll try not to wait too long between updates. **

* * *

**_Chapter One_**

* * *

**_12 Hours Earlier_**

Red.

The color reminded her of passion and violence. Passionate people acted on impulse. Impulse usually ended in feelings of regret, especially when things turned violent - as they often did - and then blood was spilt.

Blood was red.

So, red was definitely out.

Purple wasn't an option. She'd sported that color too many times in the bags hanging under her eyes. The result of too many sleepless nights - a hazard of the job. And bruises. It reminded her of bruises, something she'd had too many of as a child.

And gray - actually, she hadn't associated anything negative with gray. In fact, it reminded her of the storm clouds that gathered before a long, hard rain.

Erin loved the rain.

"Gray." She decided.

Halstead glanced at her out of his periphery, his eyebrows knitting together in disbelief. "Gray? Really?"

She tensed at his tone, which seemed accusatory, and cut sharply into another lane of traffic. "Really." She growled defensively. "Is there a rule against having gray as a favorite color?"

"No." He said carefully. "It's just - most people see gray as a depressing color."

She smirked. "Yeah? What's your favorite color - yellow?"

"It's green, actually."

"Is this the stimulating conversation that you use on the ladies?" She asked. "Because if it is, I have a feeling I could give you a few pointers on how to improve your game."

He scoffed, glancing at her skeptically. "I'm surprised you even know how to date with Voight monitoring ever- ."

Erin threw a quick glare at him. "Don't even start." She warned, maneuvering the vehicle into a sharp turn and cutting off any further conversation.

_x_

_._

_x_

As they approached their destination, Erin slowed down, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to them. She pulled up next to a group of cars parked behind some dilapidated buildings, cut the engine, and popped the trunk.

She pulled out the tactical gear stored there, including a bulletproof vest and a back-up weapon. After she and Halstead had all the necessary gear, she glanced around at the others present.

Immediately, she gravitated towards Voight who stood off to one side, away from the group of officers and detectives surrounding an SUV.

Erin cast a glance over her shoulder and watched as Halstead headed towards Antonio and the others. As she turned back, she noticed Voight looking at her. His knowing gaze flicked to Halstead then back to her.

"Money laundering?" She asked, ignoring him.

He nodded. "The building were hittin' is the major pipeline where it's all counted, sorted, the works."

"This is our fourth hit on this gang within two weeks. Who's this new CI of yours?"

He didn't respond.

"He must be pretty high up in the ranks." She commented.

He nodded. "A few more weeks and they should be able to make a solid case against the drug lord of the gang."

"Good. I hope they get the max sentence. These guys destroy so many lives."

Understanding showed on his normally serious face, "I know, kid." He glanced up at the group by the SUV, noticing they were preparing to start the raid. "You ready?" He asked.

Erin nodded.

Together, they walked over to join the rest of the officers and detectives.

_x_

_._

_x_

"...one, two, three!"

On three, the group burst through the back entrance, moving purposefully into the building. Within the first few feet, they broke into smaller divisions, leaving Erin with Antonio.

As the others moved into the main hallway, Erin followed Antonio through a set of double doors that led to the stairs.

Two officers who'd followed her started up the stairs leading to the next level. Erin took the lead from Antonio and descended the second set of stairs leading to the basement. They turned twice before they reached the final landing and passed through another set of double doors.

Despite it being daylight outside, the hallway they passed into was dark and deserted. Immediately, Erin pulled out a flashlight and held it tight against her gun, illuminating her line of fire. She heard Antonio repeat her actions and, a few moments later, a second beam of light joined hers.

The main operation took place on the first two levels of the building so it made sense that the basement seemed empty.

Nonetheless, it still had to be cleared.

As one, they moved side by side down the hallway, clearing rooms on their individual sides. They always waited for one another to finish sweeping a room before they moved on.

After a few hundred feet, the hallway formed a T as it branched off into two smaller hallways. Erin turned into the hallway on the left and could hear the purposeful steps of Antonio as he turned into the hallway on the right.

A quick glance of the area before her revealed a short hallway with rooms on either side and a broken exit sign at the end that pointed down another corridor.

She cleared the first few rooms with ease but as she drew near the second-to-last room, a sixth sense fueled adrenaline through her system.

Slowing down, she cautiously peered into the room, her gun aimed and ready.

A shadow moved in the corner of her eye and she turned, shining the flashlight across the debris against the wall. There were broken pieces of wood, used blankets and cloth, metal fragments, and an assortment of other objects.

She carefully scanned through the mess.

Nothing.

Satisfied, she moved to continue her sweep when she heard objects moving and a dark shape darted out from behind the clutter. Erin jerked the flashlight towards the movement, just in time to catch sight of the perpetrator.

A rat.

Disgusted, she quickly cleared the rest of the room and returned to the hallway.

Erin walked a few steps before she turned towards the last room.

She pushed open the door and entered, ready and alert. A few paces in, she heard a slow creak as the door moved slightly and she froze.

Cold metal pressed into the base of her neck and she immediately reacted. She spun, stepping to the side to avoid the line of fire and brought up her elbow, knocking the suspect's arm, and consequently the gun, to the side.

Although he obviously hadn't been expecting any resistance, he recovered quickly.

He ducked low and elbowed her in the side, between the Velcro straps of her vest. As his elbow connected, he swung up his hand and pistol-whipped her with his gun.

In the brief moment she was disoriented, he stepped forward, trapping her between the wall and his body weight as he leaned against her. A forearm pressed tightly across her throat and she gasped harshly as it restricted her breathing.

"Make _one_ move." He hissed, shoving the gun barrel against her forehead. "One move and you're _dead_."

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**What'd you think?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry, guys. I know this update took a long time but this scene took a little longer than I planned. I scrapped a bunch of different versions in an attempt to stay true to the characters and trying to be realistic. Also, I'm having a crisis over where I'm going to college. Ah, the dramas of high school.**

**Anyway, a HUGE thanks to all of you who reviewed (jaelyn2001, SOPPNATION, Kathes, Guest, ChicagoPDwalkingdead, Famous4it, kit kat 94, Cribellate, sxcthing123, and sydcasy)! And the number of people who are following the story more than doubled! THANK YOU!**

**I'm glad you like it so far. Hopefully, you like this next part too.**

**IMPORTANT: Unless in conversation or otherwise stated, italics are flashbacks.**

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

* * *

Erin pushed back her fear and reluctantly stopped resisting but her eyes were still watching, waiting, calculating. At the first sign of weakness or vulnerability, she would exploit it and leverage it against him.

He leaned his weight into the forearm across her throat and hissed, "Drop it."

Her already ragged and shallow breaths became non-existent and almost immediately, her grip loosened until she heard a loud clatter.

The suspect shifted and she heard her gun skitter across the concrete into the opposite corner of the room.

"Good." He said, removing his forearm and causing her to gasp violently as she tried to catch her breath. Taking advantage of her preoccupation again, he groped along her sides until he found her handcuffs.

He quickly slipped one of the metal bracelets onto her wrists, "Face the wall."

To emphasize his point, he dug his gun into her forehead and she winced at the additional pressure.

Slowly, defiantly, she turned towards the wall, his gun trailing along her skin until it was pressed firmly into the back of her head. He swiftly finished cuffing her other wrist then forced her to turn around again.

Next, he stripped her of her cell phone, radio, and back-up weapon - discarding them into the corner where her gun was.

He unstrapped the Velcro on her police vest and pulled it off, throwing it in the corner as well.

Fear wormed its way to the forefront of her mind again as her chances of gaining the upper hand steadily decreased.

_x_

_._

_x_

Antonio finished clearing the last room in the hallway he was in.

Relaxing slightly, he retraced his steps back to the T junction in the main basement hallway and glanced around, searching for Erin. Either she hadn't finished clearing all her rooms or she was in trouble.

Cautiously, Antonio crossed into the hallway on the left and began clearing rooms.

_x_

_._

_x_

It wasn't adrenaline.

It was pain and rage and desperation.

Her elbow flew back - hard and fast - into the tender flesh of his gut. Surprised, the suspect grunted and his grip on her bicep loosened, giving her just enough leverage to jerk out of his grasp.

She pivoted off her back foot and brought her knee up, feeling a grim satisfaction when it connected with the fleshy junction between his legs.

Instinctively, he bent over in a pathetic attempt to ease the pain. Erin brought her knee up a second time. There was a nauseating crack and dark red blood spurted from his nose.

Temporarily incapacitated, Erin left him and rushed to the corner of the room where she'd seen him discard her radio. Hurriedly, she dropped to her knees and spun so that her back faced the wall. Desperately, she searched the area with her bound hands, reaching into the darkness.

He was recovering and she was running out of time.

Finally, her fingers closed around the edges of the bulky, plastic object. She pulled it close to her body then turned over her shoulder to speak in a low, panicked tone, "I need medics and back-up in the Southeast - "

Fire exploded behind her eyes and, for a brief moment, she was confused as she slumped against the wall. White-hot pain spiked through her skull and she groaned softly, her vision blurring.

Green and red and black dots crowded at the edges of her sight.

She blinked, turning the world completely dark as she tried to focus - to regain some sort of clarity.

But instead, the darkness claimed her.

_x_

_._

_x_

_"I need medics and back-up in the Southeast - " _

_A heavy thud. _

_A painful groan._

_Then silence._

The memory was still fresh in Halstead's mind as he followed Voight down the basement hallway, approaching the T junction.

Southeast.

Voight turned to the right, leading Halstead and four other officers down the short corridor.

The group made quick work of all the rooms before they descended upon the last one.

As they approached, they took up their familiar positions.

Voight pressed against the wall next to the door, listening for any sort of movement.

Halstead faced the closed door, his gun aimed - ready to take down any immediate threats. At a curt nod from Voight, his foot slammed into the door in a well-practiced kick and he quickly followed its path, entering the room and heading to the left.

Swiftly, Voight followed him, moving in the opposite direction and scanning the room.

Halstead's flashlight cut across the area, revealing that the room was made entirely out of concrete without any windows - in its past, it'd probably served as a storage room.

The beam of light passed over a small object lying against the far wall and Halstead drew closer to examine it.

It was a standard, police-issue radio.

Next to it, there was a smattering of crimson drops - blood - and it was fresh.

Tearing his gaze from the ominous clues, he scoured the length of the wall. He noticed Erin's police vest, cell phone, and gun lying within a few feet to the left. Confused, he shined the flashlight onto the radio again.

Why had she gone for the radio and called for back-up instead of reaching for her gun to protect herself?

"Voi-" He called, turning around but was cut off at the sight of his boss.

Hank was kneeling over a crumpled heap on the floor, his voice low as he talked in a gruff but soothing tone. His hands pressed against the bundle hard, as if he was trying to hold it together. Shifting to the side, Halstead recognized the black hair and the familiar features, stained red with blood.

Out of his periphery, he noticed an officer step back as EMTs entered the room, immediately moving to take over for Voight and suddenly, the pieces connected.

He glanced at the radio, understanding dawning on him.

_The gun moved away from her side, aiming in the opposite direction._

_Two gunshots echoed in the small space, reverberating off the concrete._

_One second passed in silence._

_Two seconds._

_Then three._

_Finally, there was a soft thud as Antonio's knees collapsed from underneath him and he folded into a heap on the floor. Red bloomed across his stomach from two bullet wounds placed just above his hips, narrowly avoiding the bottom edge of his police vest._

_Erin's jaw went slack with shock and she jerked forward to help him but was roughly pulled back by the suspect._

_Panic surged in her chest and she acted without any real thought - except to save him._

_If she reached her gun, she could attempt to kill the man but her hands were bound behind her back. Even if she managed to maneuver them in front of her, he could recover before she got off a shot and it would be an opportunity wasted - one she knew she wouldn't get again._

_She couldn't afford to waste it._

_Antonio was dying._

_The radio was the most direct and sure way to get him help._

_It was the only way._

_Erin inhaled slowly - preparing, calculating, praying._

_It wasn't adrenaline._

_It was pain and rage and desperation._

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**So, how was it? Did you see that coming?**


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